Between our CSA and our garden, we’ve been blessed with an overabundance of lettuce this summer. Which means that we’re eating a lot of salads. Side salads. Grilled chicken salads. “Loaded” chef salads. Good thing Andy likes his greens. 😀
However, when it comes to salad, we are a house divided. There’s the normal my side (you know, the one with salads that are lightly dressed with a fresh vinaigrette or drizzled with a tangy buttermilk ranch), and then there’s the weird Andy’s side. The one with plain salads. Don’t get me wrong, Andy is all about toppings on his lettuce – as long as those toppings are things like peppers, strawberries, cranberries, onions, tomatoes, cheese, chicken, shrimp, broccoli, nuts… anything OTHER than dressing. He says dressing is unnecessary, and that his salads are healthier. Whatever. 🙂
The plus side of this situation? I get to make/eat whatever dressing I want, and right now, that’s a zesty homemade Italian dressing. It’s made from pantry staples and mixes up easily. It also makes a great chicken marinade – you know, for those grilled chicken salads that we’re eating.
Italian Salad Dressing
For the dressing mix:
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons oregano
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
For a batch of dressing:
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2/3 cup olive oil (or salad oil)
2 tablespoons dressing mix
In a small bowl, stir together the dry ingredients. Store in an airtight container until ready to use. To make a batch of dressing, whisk together 2 tablespoons of dressing mix and vinegar. Pour the oil into the vinegar mixture in a steady stream, whisking constantly to combine. (I actually prefer to use my immersion blender for this, as I’ve found that it emulsifies the dressing the best.) Store dressing the refrigerator.
From Peace Love & French Fries
Click here for a printable version.